Islamic World Peace Forum - International Dayhttp://en.iwpeace.com/tags/international-day
enInternational Day of Solidarity with Palestinianshttp://en.iwpeace.com/articles/38008
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<p><strong>The United Nations declared November 29 the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in 1977. </strong></p>
<p>The move was aimed at soothing Palestinian people for the UN’s role in approving resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, which came to be known as the Partition Resolution.</p>
<p>Undoubtedly, this day has been one of the darkest days in Palestinian history.The resolution recommended the creation of “independent Arab and Jewish states” and a Special International Regime for the city of Jerusalem, Al-Quds. In May 1948, Zionists waged a bloody war against Palestinians and occupied 78 percent of Palestinian territory.</p>
<p>They displaced nearly one million Palestinians and established their “state” in more than two thirds of Palestinian soil. The selection of November 29 by the UN sought to overshadow the body’s negative role in the establishment of Israel.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, November 29 is observed in various countries every year. Special ceremonies are also held to condemn the occupation of Palestine and highlight the plight of Palestinian people. Presently, Palestinians are still under occupation and they are deprived of the most basic health facilities. The violence of Israeli forces toward Palestinians and their children has added insult to injury.</p>
<p>According to the UN, Tel Aviv has posed serious threats to Palestinians, particularly children, byarresting, torturing and murdering them. For instance, UN reports say Israeli forces severely hit children on the head, or use shock devices which result in Palestinian children falling into a coma. Official reports indicate that 85 percent of children in Israeli jails are tortured.</p>
<p>Children have special rights in all countries, which have laws to defend the rights of children.</p>
<p>Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Childstipulates that:</p>
<p>* No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. Neithercapital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below the age of eighteen.</p>
<p>* No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort, and for the shortestappropriate period of time.</p>
<p>* Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults, unless it is considered to be in the child’s best interest not to do so, and the child shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances.</p>
<p>* Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt a decision on any such action.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, international laws are not observed universally and we are facing double standards.</p>
<p>The Israeli regime is an example which violates international laws and continues to commit crimes. The arrest,murder and repression of Palestinian children by Israelis demonstrate that this regime has never complied with international laws and the demands of the international community.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the international community has ignored atrocities perpetrated by the Israeli regime. Tel Aviv’s crimes against humanity do not draw any proper reactionsfrom the UN and human rights groups.</p>
<p>On aggregate, based on UN reports, the situation of Palestinian children is worrisome and their basic rights areviolated. This necessitates that human rights bodies take urgent action to prevent rther violations of children’s rights.</p>
<p>The occupying Israeli regime turns a blind eye to international laws, disobeys the decision of international institutions, including the UN Security Council and the General Assembly, and violates conventions and global resolutions.</p>
<p>In addition to committing war crimes, ethnic cleansing as well as systematic and massive violation of human rights, Israel is expanding its settlements and displacing more Palestinians.</p>
<p>It has also turned into a troublesome and problematic phenomenon by acquiring nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.</p>
<p>Tel Aviv has explicitly threatened global peace and security. Apart from observing the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the international community should spare no efforts to inform people across the globe of the plight of Palestinian children as well as the grave violation of human rights in the occupied territories. Such measures are essential to restoring the rights of the oppressed Palestinians.</p>
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<a href="/authors/afsaneh-reshad-has-doctorate-international-relations">Afsaneh Reshad has a doctorate in international relations.</a> </div>
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Saturday, 03 December 2016 </div>
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<a href="/tags/international-day">International Day</a> </li>
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<a href="/tags/solidarity">Solidarity</a> </li>
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<a href="/tags/international-laws-0">international laws</a> </li>
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<a href="/tags/human-rights">Human Rights</a> </li>
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Sat, 03 Dec 2016 10:32:01 +0000Reshad38008 at http://en.iwpeace.comhttp://en.iwpeace.com/articles/38008#commentsStatement of IWPF on the Occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (November 29)http://en.iwpeace.com/statements/37994
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<p><strong>November 29 is reminder of a bitter event in 1947 when the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the partition of Palestine. In 1977, the General Assembly called for the annual observance of 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (Resolution 32/40 B).</strong></p>
<p>On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly under the influence and intervention of big powers adopted the unjust resolution of partition of Palestine and made it official. On the basis of the Resolution 181 (II), Palestine was partitioned into two parts and the General Assembly assigned one part of it for the formation of a Jewish state and another for the Palestinian state. Although the unjust partition resolution by ignoring the Palestinian nature of Palestine and the history of this ancient land, allocated half of the territory of the Palestinians to the Palestinian people and another half to the Zionists, in May 1948, the Zionists did not remain committed to the half and by occupying more Palestinian territories have till date prevented the formation of an independent Palestinian state.</p>
<p>The occupying Zionist regime is still confiscating the houses of the Palestinian people in the Bait-ul-Muqaddas (Jerusalem) and West Bank to build Zionist settlements in order to force the displaced people of East Bait-ul-Muqaddas and West Bank to leave from their home and hearth. Six decades on, today, still millions of displaced Palestinians are living in refugee camps in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, having a hard time. The West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which have become a battlefield of onslaught by occupiers against the defenseless Palestinians, is still under the siege of the Zionist army and their people are tackling with illness and hunger with least livelihood and other facilities and amenities at their disposal.</p>
<p>The Islamic World Peace Forum (IWPF), as a non-governmental organization which is active in the field of just peace, security and dignity of all human beings, maintains that although the UN General Assembly in 1977 in a resolution announced November 29 as the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People, the history is still judging the oppression, whose foundation stone was laid in the General Assembly and its resolution on partition of Palestine Resolution 181 (II).</p>
<p></p>
<p>The IWPF maintains that:</p>
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The occupation of Palestine and the continuous organized inhumane crime of the Zionist regime against the people of this holy land are the source of creation and continuation of one of the longest global crises; a crisis which is not only the root of many other problems and crises in the Middle East and the world of Islam, but also is one of the main sources of insecurity and instability in the international arena.</li>
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The all-out siege of Gaza by the Zionists is an evident document of the crimes committed against the Palestinian people, while the United Nations through its silence or inadequate measures is only an observer of the human tragedy that is taking place in the Gaza.</li>
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The IWPF considers the displacement of millions of Palestinians, the daily massacre of the defenseless Palestinian people, heedlessness of the Zionist regime to the demands of international community and its refrainment from implementing UN resolutions as clear examples of injustice in the world and calls for fundamental ad legal measures by Islamic countries and free-spirited people of the world to defend the rights of the Palestinian people.</li>
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The IWPF maintains that unilateral occupation of land, aggression, disrespect to human dignity and organized and state-sponsored terrorism – whose clear referent is the Zionist regime of Israel – would rent hearts of free-spirited people when committed in any part of the world. Hence, it is the duty of all free-spirited and pacific people of the world, while attaching significance and commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, to ask for commitment of the Israeli regime to the UN resolutions and decisions, including evacuation of the parts of the occupied territories, terminating the siege of the Palestinian people, particularly the people of Gaza, and halting the construction of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories.</li>
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The IWPF maintains that fight against terrorism and extremism, one of whose referents today is the Daesh and similar groups, will not bear any fruit without putting an end to the occupation of Palestine and stopping the Israeli aggressive policies. Therefore, the IWPF calls on international community, particularly the Islamic international forums, to pay attention to the main roots of the protraction of the Palestinian crisis as well as its solutions, some of which include: holding free and fair elections with the participation of all Palestinians including Muslims, Christians and Jews, practice of the right to self-determination and return of all the displaced Palestinians to their motherland.</li>
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Condemning the Zionist regime’s measures aiming at obliterating the historical and civilizational identity of the holy Quds and sacrilege of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is the first Qibla of the Muslims and the attempts of the Zionist regime to approve a racist law on Judaization of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Islamic World Peace Forum warns that the continuation of aggressive polices of Israeli regime will lead to nothing but consolidation of extremism and undoubtedly the spread of these crises will engulf the supporters of the occupying regime and will affect other parts of the world.</li>
</ul><p> The Islamic World Peace Forum</p>
<p> November 29, 2016</p>
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Tuesday, 29 November 2016 </div>
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<a href="/tags/international-day">International Day</a> </li>
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<a href="/tags/palestinian-people-november-29">Palestinian People (November 29)</a> </li>
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Tue, 29 Nov 2016 07:59:31 +0000Reshad37994 at http://en.iwpeace.comhttp://en.iwpeace.com/statements/37994#commentsBan Urges Human Solidarity to Build New Sustainability Agendahttp://en.iwpeace.com/news/21081
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<p><em><strong>United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked Human Solidarity Day today by calling for joint action to craft and take forward a new, inlcusive development agenda that eradicates poverty, protects the planet and ensures dignity for all.</strong></em></p>
<p>In his message on the International Day, Mr. Ban said this year's observance comes as the world shapes a new sustainable development agenda to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the largest anti-poverty campaign in history, by 2015.</p>
<p>Member States, the UN system, experts, representatives of civil society, business executives and millions of individuals from all corners of the globe, have come together with a shared sense of purpose to make the most of this once-in-a-generation opportunity.</p>
<p>“The new agenda will centre on people and planet,” the Secretary-General continued, explainig that it will be underpinned by human rights and supported by a global partnership determined to lift people from poverty, hunger and disease.</p>
<p>“It will be built on a foundation of global cooperation and solidarity,” he decalred.</p>
<p>Indeed, the United Nations believes that solidarity with people affected by poverty and an absence of human rights is vital, he said adding that, based on equality, inclusion and social justice, solidarity implies a mutual obligation across the global community.</p>
<p>“As we map our future development path, we must be firm in our commitment</p>
<p>to champion solidarity and shared responsibility as part of the sustainable development agenda. These are fundamental values that must be upheld,” affirmed the UN chief.</p>
<p>Only through collective action could the world tackle such far reaching issues as poverty and growing inequality, climate change, chronic poverty and major health challenges, such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.</p>
<p>“On International Human Solidarity Day, I call for a renewed commitment to collective action. Let us act together as one to end poverty, achieve shared prosperity and peace, protect the planet and foster a life of dignity for all,” said Mr. Ban, echoing a call he made just two weeks ago when he introduced and advance version of his so-called “synthesis report,” which will guide negotiations for the new global agenda.</p>
<p>In an informal briefing to the General Assembly, the UN chief on 4 December presented his report, The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet, which aims to support States' discussions going forward, taking stock of the negotiations on the post-2015 agenda and reviewing lessons from pursuit of the MDGs.</p>
<p>It stresses the need to “finish the job” – both to help people now and as a launch pad for the new agenda.</p>
<p>In the report's conclusion, the Secretary-General issues a powerful charge to Member States, saying: “We are on the threshold of the most important year of development since the founding of the United Nations itself. We must give meaning to this Organization's promise to 'reaffirm faith in the dignity and worth of the human person' and to take the world forward to a sustainable future.”</p>
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<a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49659&amp;Cr=sustainable&amp;Cr1=#.VJe-2cjA" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">UN News Center</a> </div>
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Monday, 22 December 2014 </div>
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Mon, 22 Dec 2014 08:20:29 +0000Fathi21081 at http://en.iwpeace.comhttp://en.iwpeace.com/news/21081#commentsInternational Day for the Elimination of Violence against Womenhttp://en.iwpeace.com/reports/20661
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<p><strong>As we commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, let us mobilize for the 16 days of activism from now until Human Rights Day on 10 December. Join the global effort to “Orange YOURNeighbourhood” as part of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women.</strong><br />
Together, we must continue to make our voices heard.<br />
No matter who you are or where you are, it is time to speak out, to break the silence and to take a stand. We can no longer allow one in three women to be subjected to physical or sexual violence in her lifetime.<br />
It is time to end the gender inequality and the impunity that allow this violence and human suffering to continue on such a widespread scale. Governments have a responsibility to uphold human rights for all, to ensure safety and justice.<br />
From domestic abuse to sexual violence, from cyber-bullying to human trafficking, from early, child and forced marriage to female genital mutilation, it is time to end violence against women and girls in all its forms.<br />
Today, there is no country in the world, not one, where women and girls live free from violence.<br />
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, will continue to stand strong for the right of every woman and girl to live free of violence, coercion and discrimination. We will stand strong for sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality.<br />
UNFPA will continue to support efforts worldwide from husbands’ schools in Niger to the Padara movement in Zimbabwe, to training judges in the Amak community in Nicaragua, to working with community and religious leaders, andengaging men and boys to end violence and discrimination against women and girls.<br />
We are working with UN Women and other partners to develop global standards for essential services for survivors of gender-based violence. These services address psychosocial, legal and housing needs and the devastating health consequences many survivors face, which range from forced and unwanted pregnancies to unsafe and forced abortions to life-long physical injuries and mental trauma.<br />
The impacts on communities and societies at large are far-reaching, and are further magnified in crisis situations.<br />
From Syria to Iraq to SouthSudanto the Central African Republic to other nations ravaged by conflict or natural disaster, UNFPA is providing reproductive health services, including maternal health care and family planning. We are working to ensure that the health and safety of women, including safe delivery and safety from violence, are prioritized in humanitarian operations.<br />
The global community is united in its position that ending violence against women must be prioritized in the post-2015 international development agenda.<br />
UNFPA will keep pushing for a world free of violence for all women and girls. We will not stop until this violence is no longer tolerated, consigned to the shameful chapter of history where it belongs.</p>
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<a href="http://www.un.org.ir/index.php/issues-development/issues-health/896-25-nov-2014-message-of-unfpa-executive-director-for-international-day-for-the-elimination-of-violence-against-women" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">UN News Center</a> </div>
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<a href="/departments/women">Women</a> </div>
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Wednesday, 10 December 2014 </div>
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<a href="/tags/elimination">elimination</a> </li>
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Wed, 10 Dec 2014 08:01:36 +0000Fathi20661 at http://en.iwpeace.comhttp://en.iwpeace.com/reports/20661#commentsUN-Led Effort to End Violence against Womenhttp://en.iwpeace.com/reports/20011
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<p><strong><em>Tonight, for the first time ever, both the iconic United Nations Headquarters complex and the Empire State Building in New York are bathed in orange light to kick off the “Orange YOUR Neighbourhood” campaign ahead of the International Day to End Violence Against Women.</em></strong></p>
<p>“Together, we must end this global disgrace,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at a special pre-lighting ceremony at the Empire State Building this morning where he “flipped the switch” ahead of the Building's illumination tonight.</p>
<p>“It is up to everyone to play their part; women's rights are not only women's business. Men and boys are finally taking their place as partners in this battle,” Mr. Ban explained in midtown New York where he was joined by American actress Teri Hatcher, Mrs. Yoo Soon-taek, and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).</p>
<p>Orange YOUR Neighbourhood is part of Mr. Ban's campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women. The theme will carry through related events during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which run between 25 November and 10 December (Human Rights Day).</p>
<p>The hashtags #Orangeurhood and #16days are being used to raise awareness on social media.</p>
<p>Despite recent progress, violence continues to plague one billion women worldwide. That means that one in three women experiences physical or sexual violence at some point in her life – mostly by an intimate partner.</p>
<p>According to UN-Women, among all women killed in 2012, nearly half died at the hands of a partner or family member. And far too often, crimes go unpunished and perpetrators walk free.</p>
<p>This year alone, more than 200 girls have been kidnapped in Nigeria, and we have seen graphic testimony from Iraqi women of rape and sexual slavery during the conflict there, Mr. Ban said.</p>
<p>And here in the United States, there have been high-profile cases of sexual violence involving sports teams and on university campuses. But we know that many other cases go unreported and unpunished, he added.</p>
<p>“This is outrageous, and it must stop,” the Secretary-General declared, calling for an end to the “mindsets and traditions that encourage, ignore or tolerate violence.”</p>
<p>The campaign to end violence against women calls on everyone around the world to display the colour orange to symbolize their commitment and hope for a safe future for all women. People will tie orange ribbons on landmarks. Marchers dressed in orange will raise awareness and discuss community-wide solutions.</p>
<p>“We need this eye-catching colour everywhere so that the message is loud and clear: we all need to work together to stop violence against women and girls right now,” said Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka in an earlier press release.</p>
<p>In New York's Times Square, one of the world's most fabled crossroads, the NASDAQ and Reuters Tower screens will flash the colour along with anti-violence messages in hopes of reaching a wide audience. The United Nations Secretariat was lit up orange this evening after 7pm.</p>
<p>“That includes men and boys standing up for what's right and working with us and the women's movement to tackle gender inequality. We have to end this universal violation of human rights,” Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka added.</p>
<p>Several events have been organized around the world in solidarity. In Latin American, a marathon in Mexico City; in Africa, a film forum hosted in Uganda screening stories focusing on the experiences of women's lives; in Asia-Pacific, public spaces in India will turn orange to promote awareness among local communities.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in the Middle East, activities are planned, many with a focus on violence against women in Gaza. High-profile events in Eastern Europe and Central Asia include a series of awareness-raising forums on the violence that young girls face in high schools.</p>
<p>Media outlets and their journalists are also getting involved by either wearing orange or using it in their studios and urging audiences to do their part to end violence against women and girls.</p>
<p>The private sector has played a catalytic role this year. For example, United Colors of Benetton is launching a campaign which will contribute to increasing awareness.</p>
<p>“We know what works; now we are insisting on the commitment of political action and commensurate resources to that agenda,” Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka said.</p>
<p>The good news is that momentum is growing as the world gears up in 2015 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, as well as the end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the framing of a bold new global development agenda.</p>
<p>“Together we must make 2015 the year that marks the beginning of the end of gender inequality,” Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka added. “Now is the time for action.”</p>
<p>Several events planned at Headquarters tomorrow to mark the official Day will be attended by the First Lady of New York City, Chirlane McCray and actress Teri Hatcher.</p>
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<a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49427#.VHRjXGc2X3g" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">UN News Center</a> </div>
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Tuesday, 25 November 2014 </div>
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Tue, 25 Nov 2014 11:12:26 +0000Fathi20011 at http://en.iwpeace.comhttp://en.iwpeace.com/reports/20011#commentsBan Declares Eradication of Poverty http://en.iwpeace.com/news/18141
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<p><strong><em>Amid pronounced increases in global inequality, the United Nations marked the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty today with calls to accelerate efforts in eliminating poverty in all its forms.</em></strong></p>
<p>“Entrenched poverty and prejudice, and vast gulfs between wealth and destitution, can undermine the fabric of societies and lead to instability,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day, which is commemorated annually on 17 October.<br />
The Day will be marked at UN Headquarters in New York at three separate events, including an official commemoration in the form of a panel discussion entitled 'Leave No One Behind: Women Poverty and Participation,' and an art exhibition giving voice to people living in poverty through their collected artworks.<br />
mean and, often, short.”Mr. Ban admitted that “enormous” successes had been achieved with the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people living in poverty already reached. In addition, he pointed out that at least 700 million people had been lifted out of extreme poverty between 1990 and 2010.<br />
But, observed the Secretary-General, the damaging impact of entrenched poverty remained a constant due to the aftereffects of the 2008 financial crisis as an estimated 2.4 billion people continue to survive on less than $2 a day. Moreover, he noted that women and girls were still largely excluded from opportunities of self-development and fulfilment, often isolating them, and their families, in pockets of poverty.<br />
“Since the beginning of the financial crisis, inequality has grown even more pronounced than it was already,” Mr. Ban declared. “Discrimination against women and girls remains a blatant injustice, robbing the entire development enterprise of one of the keys to progress.”</p>
<p>With the fight against poverty at the core of the UN development agenda, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed every year since 1993, when the UN General Assembly designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries ahead of the MDG deadline set for 2015.</p>
<p>This year's theme for the Day, 'Leave no one behind: think, decide and act together against extreme poverty,' draws much-needed attention to the challenge of identifying and securing the participation of those experiencing extreme poverty and social exclusion in the “Post-2015 Development Agenda” that will replace the MDGs.</p>
<p>Turning to the UN-wide preparations for a post-2015 sustainable development agenda, the Secretary-General reminded UN Member States and all parties not to lose sight of their “most fundamental obligation” to eliminate poverty and build “a sustainable, peaceful, prosperous and equitable future for all.”</p>
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<a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49099&amp;Cr=poverty&amp;Cr1=#.VEIBOFc2WM8" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">UN News Center</a> </div>
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Saturday, 18 October 2014 </div>
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Sat, 18 Oct 2014 07:23:02 +0000Fathi18141 at http://en.iwpeace.comhttp://en.iwpeace.com/news/18141#commentsGandhi to be Remembered on International Day of Non-Violencehttp://en.iwpeace.com/news/17641
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<p><em><strong>The philosophy of the late Mahatma Gandhi, who espoused peaceful protest over violence, is being remembered at the United Nations on Thursday.</strong></em></p>
<p>Gandhi, helped lead India to independence, and has been the inspiration for non-violent movements and social change across the world.</p>
<p>His life is being celebrated on the annual International Day of Non-Violence.</p>
<p>The UN celebration marks the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi and recognises his commitment to non-violence even under oppressive conditions and in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.</p>
<p>In his message to mark the day, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon said that the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, the year of Gandhi's death, owe much to his beliefs.</p>
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<a href="http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2014/10/gandhi-to-be-remembered-on-international-day-of-non-violence/#.VDJsUVc2WM8" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">UNmultimedia</a> </div>
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Monday, 06 October 2014 </div>
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Mon, 06 Oct 2014 11:06:44 +0000Fathi17641 at http://en.iwpeace.comhttp://en.iwpeace.com/news/17641#commentsUN Urges Efforts to Support South-South Cooperationhttp://en.iwpeace.com/news/17021
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<p><em><strong>Cooperation between and among developing countries offers a path to balancing growth and equity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, marking the United Nations Day of South-South cooperation with a call to encourage – and learn from – emerging partners in the global South to promote prosperity for all.</strong></em></p>
<p>“Let us reaffirm our commitment to pioneering South-South approaches that will ensure shared prosperity, sustainable development and a life of dignity for all,” Mr. Ban said in his message on the Day.</p>
<p>Despite the recent successes in the Millennium Development Goals, Mr. Ban warned that progress across the South has been uneven. He stressed that “extreme poverty, rampant inequality, malnutrition and vulnerability to climate and weather-related shocks persist.”</p>
<p>To mark the importance of South-South Cooperation, the General Assembly decided to observe this Day on 12 September annually, commemorating the adoption in 1978 of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.</p>
<p>Echoing Mr. Ban’s assertion that South-South cooperation as an essential component of international cooperation, John Ashe, President of the General Assembly, said in a statement that “ [it also] offers viable opportunities for countries of the global South to explore new avenues for technical collaboration as a part of North-South and triangular engagement.”</p>
<p>Further spotlighting the advantages of South-South cooperation, Mr. Ashe said: “Countries of the global South can gain additional access to finance, technology and markets.”</p>
<p>“Investments by developed and developing partners in infrastructure can also help diversify economies, lead to further agricultural productivity, and advance overall economic development of the countries of the global South,” he said.</p>
<p>Gilbert Houngbo, Deputy-Director General for Field Operations and Partnerships of the UN International Labour organization (ILO) stressed that the agency has been a key player in presenting good practices and solutions from the global South, as well as from traditional partners, through the triangular cooperation modality, which includes Governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations.</p>
<p>Zeroing in on top priorities of creating decent jobs and reducing inequality, Mr. Houngbo said that “South-South and triangular cooperation is yielding some of the most innovative solutions to eradicate poverty.”</p>
<p>It is also noteworthy, according to Mr. Houngbo, that the ILO Governing Body adopted in 2012 a strategy for South–South Cooperation, galvanizing concrete efforts in engaging partners, while promoting projects in the fields of combating child labour and forced labour, promoting youth employment, environmental sustainability and social protection for all.</p>
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<a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48702&amp;Cr=post-2015&amp;Cr1=#.VBPT3aM2WM8" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">UN News Center</a> </div>
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Saturday, 13 September 2014 </div>
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Sat, 13 Sep 2014 09:21:32 +0000Fathi17021 at http://en.iwpeace.comhttp://en.iwpeace.com/news/17021#commentsUNESCO Chief Says Literacy not Only Improves Lives, It Saves Themhttp://en.iwpeace.com/reports/16831
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<p><strong><em>With one in four young people – 175 million adolescents – unable to read a single sentence, International Literacy Day is an opportunity to remember one simple truth: literacy not only changes lives, it saves them, said the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).</em></strong></p>
<p>“Literacy facilitates access to knowledge and triggers a process of empowerment and self-esteem that benefits everyone,” Director-General Irina Bokova said in a message for the Day.<br />
This year’s activities for the Day, observed annually on 8 September, are focused on the links between literacy and sustainable development with a literacy award ceremony and a girls’ and women’s literacy conference in Bangladesh. The events underscore the power of literacy to enable people to make choices that promote economic growth, social development and environmental integration.</p>
<p>“Literacy helps reduce poverty and enables people to find jobs and obtain higher salaries. It is one of the most efficient ways of improving the health of mothers and children, understanding doctors’ prescriptions and gaining access to healthcare,” Ms. Bokova said.</p>
<p>Between 1990 and 2009, the lives of more than two million children under the age of five were saved thanks to improvements in education of women of reproductive age.</p>
<p>But today more than 781 million adults in the world still cannot read, write or count. Two thirds of them are women in the developing world. But even in high-income countries, education systems are failing significant minorities.</p>
<p>In New Zealand, almost all students from rich households achieve minimum learning standards in grades 4 and 8, but only two-thirds of poor students do. Many immigrants in rich countries are also left behind. In France, for example, fewer than 60 per cent of immigrants have reached the minimum benchmark for reading which may have long-term implications on society.</p>
<p>“What kind of societies do we expect to build with an illiterate youth? This is not the kind of world we wish to live in. We want a world where everyone can participate in the destiny of their societies, gain access to knowledge and enrich it in turn,” Ms. Bokova said.</p>
<p>She added that the world must change its traditional approach of literacy programmes to encompass broader skills with regard to consumption and sustainable lifestyles, the conversation of biodiversity, poverty reduction, disaster risk reduction as well as civic participation.</p>
<p>Commitment to these goals will be central to the forthcoming Aichi-Nagoya conference on education for sustainable development to be held in Japan this November. It will also be discussed at the World Education Forum to be held next year in Incheon, Republic of Korea, to lead the global debate towards the adoption of new sustainable development goals at the UN General Assembly in 2015.</p>
<p>UNESCO is working across the world, including in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Nigeria, and Senegal, to ensure that literacy is integrated into national development strategies. However, more must be done.</p>
<p>“We must invest more,” said Ms. Bokova, “I appeal to every Member State and all our partners to redouble efforts – political and financial – to ensure that literacy is fully recognized as one of the most powerful accelerators of sustainable development. The future we want starts with the alphabet.”<br />
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<a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48656&amp;Cr=education&amp;Cr1=#.VA6gx6M2WM8" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">UN News Center</a> </div>
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Tuesday, 09 September 2014 </div>
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Tue, 09 Sep 2014 07:47:49 +0000Fathi16831 at http://en.iwpeace.comhttp://en.iwpeace.com/reports/16831#commentsUN Chief Urges Renewed Commitment to World Free of Nuclear Weaponshttp://en.iwpeace.com/reports/16421
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<p><strong><em>Marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a renewed global commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons and nuclear tests.</em></strong><br />
“On this International Day against Nuclear tests, let us all take a fresh look at survivors’ stories. Listen to their words and imagine the effects of these detonations as if they were experienced by each of us,” Mr. Ban said in his message.<br />
He recalled meeting with courageous survivors of nuclear weapons and nuclear tests in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Semipalatinsk. Their “resolve and dedication should continue to guide our work for a world without nuclear weapons,” he said.<br />
In December 2009, the UN General Assembly declared 29 August the International Day against Nuclear Tests by unanimously adopting resolution 64/35. The resolution calls for increasing awareness and education “about the effects of nuclear-weapon-test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.”<br />
The resolution was initiated by Kazakhstan, which had closed its nuclear test site near Semipalatinsk on this day – 29 August – in 2009. Moreover, on the same date in 1949, the Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test, followed by another 455 nuclear tests over succeeding decades, with a terrible effect on the local population and environment.<br />
“These tests and the hundreds more that followed in other countries became hallmarks of a nuclear arms race, in which human survival depended on the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, known by its fitting acronym, MAD,” Mr. Ban said.</p>
<p>The Secretary-General appealed to citizens of those States that have not yet ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), especially the eight remaining Annex 2 States whose ratification is required for the Treaty’s entry into force: China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States.<br />
Since nuclear weapons testing began in the mid-twentieth century, with the first test on 16 July 1945, nearly 2,000 have taken place. The Day is meant to galvanize the UN, Member States, and non-governmental organizations to inform and advocate the necessity of banning such tests.<br />
“Together, let us demand an end to all nuclear tests, get on with the unfinished business of achieving a world free of nuclear weapons and usher in a safer and more prosperous future,” Mr. Ban said.</p>
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Friday, 29 August 2014 </div>
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Fri, 29 Aug 2014 10:27:09 +0000Fathi16421 at http://en.iwpeace.comhttp://en.iwpeace.com/reports/16421#comments